Little House - Seriesby Laura Ingalls Wilder

Little House series

Grades 3 & up

Autobiography

Book Summary:The main eight books in the Little House series tell about Laura Ingalls' family and their way of life on the North American plains in the late 1800s. Farmer Boy tells about Almanzo Wilder's family farm in New York State. The series is a window to a specific historical lifestyle, and the amount of work required for a family to survive as they set up new homes in the American Midwest.Book 1: Little House in the Big WoodsBook 2: Little House on the PrairieBook 3: On the Banks of Plum CreekBook 4: By the Shores of Silver LakeBook 5: Little Town on the PrairieBook 6: The Long WinterBook 7: These Happy Golden YearsBook 8: The First Four Yearsand Farmer Boy

Book Review:An interesting look at life before electricity, television, and computers; the author lived fro 1867 to 1957. Farmer Boy is a bit more episodic than some of the other books, but they all include details about food preparation, clothing, social expectations, and farm work that are removed from many Western readers' experiences today. This series works as a family read-aloud/read together for children as young as kindergarten - particularly the earlier books. Readers in grades 2 or 3 are better suited to read the series independently. The later books involve the author's courtship and marriage and may be more appropriate for readers in grades 4 or 5. There are negative stereotypes portrayed in some of the books toward African-American and Native American people, and these can raise important discussion points about narrow perspectives.